This weekend... explore the shore

Let's be honest – how often do you visit a UK beach and relax on the sand, soaking up the rays? Usually an afternoon on our coast involves a windbreak, an anorak and a half-hearted attempt at beach tennis to stay warm.

If you’re heading to the coast this weekend, we've put together this guide to nature on the seashore, proving there's more to fun than sun!

Limpets
There are more to limpets than meet the eye. Look for them on rocky shores. Although they cling tightly to the rocks, limpets don't stay in the same place. They wander around the rocks at low tide looking for algae, seaweed and larvae to eat.

Limpets are male during the first few months of their lives but they later change sex and become females.

Seaweed
Many animals rely on seaweed for food or shelter. Look for egg wrack – dark brown, thin straps with single air bubbles running along them. The air bubbles are called bladders, and egg wrack has one bladder for every year it's been growing.Bladder wrack is dark green with fatter, shorter strips and lots of small bladders like bubble wrap. If you’re keen to find out more about different seaweeds and do your bit for science, the Natural History Museum has launched the Big Seaweed Search and is asking everyone for their seaweed sightings.

Mermaid's purses
This lovely folklore name is given to the egg cases of skates, rays and sharks. Here's one example of what a mermaid's purse looks like:

Birds
The beach is a good place to look for birds such as kittiwakes and cormorants. Watch for kittiwakes flying over the waves and cormorants diving into the water or perched on rocks holding their wings out to dry.

Starfish
There are over 30 kinds of starfish in the UK. You can often see them washed up on the beach after a storm. They provide a good source of food for seabirds.

Cuttlefish bones
The cuttlefish (which isn't a fish – it's actually a mollusc) fills this bone with gases to stay buoyant in the water. They are pretty smelly after they’ve been washed up on the beach – perhaps not one to take home! 

Crabs
Even if you don't spot a shore crab scuttling across the beach or lurking in a pool, you might find a crab shell or claw washed up. Crabs are vicious fighters, and many lose a front claw in clashes with other crabs.

Jellyfish
Some areas of the sea are turning into 'jellyfish soup' according to The Marine Conservation Society. If you see one washed up on the beach, look but don't touch! Even a dead jellyfish can sting you. Instead, report your sighting to the Marine Conservation Society who are trying to find out more about jellyfish and their predators - leatherback turtles.

Don't forget, there are loads of coastal RSPB nature reserves that make great days out. Let us know below what you find on the beach if you head to the coast this weekend. 

Cuttlefish by Claire Sambrook, mermaid's purse by christine4nier, limpet shell and periwinkle shells by Andy Hay